The OSI Interview: Sarah McColl

Sarah McColl is the lady behind Pink of Perfection, a blog near and dear to my heart because of the way Sarah combines a sassy, DIY sensibility with a love of all things home-related. Visiting her blog is like hanging out with a fun, smart, sweet, creative girlfriend who always has something interesting going on and can't wait to tell you about it. She was until recently a senior editor at Conde Nast, and now is one of many in the fast-growing pajama brigade. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, where she learned to ride horses and developed a penchant for gracious living and Frito pie. She was selected as one of Jane Magazine's "30 Under 30" and her blog has been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, and on The Martha Stewart Show. Someday she would like to learn to make cheese, be slightly less confounded by her sewing machine, and start a Brooklyn-based supper club. [Why is there such a massive assortment of amazing people in Brooklyn? I am insanely jealous.]

1. In the context of your work, which bits of minutiae matter most?
Deadlines, relationships, manners, discipline.

2. Which bits matter least?
I think email can seem really urgent to people, but the world doesn't stop if it takes a couple days here and there for a response.

3. In the context of your life, what types of minutiae once seemed important, but have since fallen by the wayside? Why?
I think I used to care a lot more about seeming "cool" and all the minutiae that goes along with that (all the name-droppy "in" stuff). Now I want people to think I'm a good, kind person, but I'm working on caring less about what people think in general. You can't please everyone, and you'd be crazy to try, right?

4. What types of minutiae, if any, have you had to train yourself to pay closer attention to?
The very definition of minutiae: details. I am not what you might call a "detail-oriented person;" I'm a big picture person. So it's taken a few years for me to see the beauty in a spreadsheet.

5. Just for kicks -- what are your favorite bits of minutiae (personal, from a book, a piece of music, moment in a movie, etc.)?
Such a great question! I love so many little details of life: the sound the stovetop coffee maker makes when the coffee is ready (kind of a whistling, gently boiling hiss sound), the final duh-duh when Law & Order is about to start, the pop of a champagne cork, a new magazine in the mailbox, the smell of yeast, stacks of handkerchiefs in a junk shop, chopping onions (if they don't make me cry), a simple turn of phrase so lovely it makes you catch your breath, waking up on Saturday morning, the way my mom smells.

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Thank you, Sarah!